By Chelsea Dowling
Gone are the days when summer nights were spent at the pool begging mom and dad for “one more jump” off the diving board or “five more minutes” of climbing on the monkey bars at the playground.
Now are the days where I spend summer nights curled up on the couch, watching the “Fab Five” women’s gymnastic team take home the gold.
As Aly Raisman perfectly sticks the final landing of her team floor routine at the London 2012 Summer Olympic games, she lifts up her head to reveal her beaming smile and tear-filled eyes — she knows the U.S. women’s gymnastics team had just won the gold for the first time since 1996. Fans in the stands celebrate, Raisman’s parents rejoice in the moment: Their daughter and her team won an Olympic gold medal. The Fab Five embrace each other, anxiously waiting for the scoreboard to announce their victory. As if their emotions are displayed in high definition, I can sense their pride and happiness — and I feel myself begin to tear up.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. It happens many times and not just when an American team wins gold. It happens when a national anthem is played and a gold medal is given, it happens when a team shows selfless dedication, and it happens when an inspiring commercial comes on…
Yes, gone are the days when Olympic commercials were for introducing “must have” products (that’s what Pinterest is for). Now are the days in which commercials tell stories that evoke emotion between the emotional games themselves. So many of this year’s Olympic commercials not only tell the story of an Olympian, they make me feel a part of something bigger. They make me want to be a better person, someone who goes after what she wants and brings home the gold with a story to tell. Gone are the days when Olympic commercials simply push product. Now are the days when commercials invite us, through storytelling, to be part of the grandest spectacle in sports. Here’s my personal review of how storytelling has changed the way we view the commercials between the Olympic events:
Thanks to Coca-Cola and the Diet Coke I drink everyday, I, and anyone else who has had a Coke in the last 84 years, may feel we have helped make Olympic dreams come true. Even in this moment, as I sip on my Diet Coke, I feel as if I have made a difference in helping the athletes featured in the Coca-Cola Olympic ceremony commercial and those who are competing in London receive their medals. The track and gymnastic stars, the Paralympians, and the special Olympians all bow their heads to be named a medaled Olympian and stand tall, proud of the ending to their Olympic story, that according to the commercials, I, as a Diet Coke drinker, had a hand in telling.
U.S. Olympic diver David Boudia is featured in a Visa commercial diving from Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. As he dives, we learn that Boudia will complete 25,000 practice dives in a year, equivalent to more than 180 dives from the 160-story building, all in preparation for one perfect dive that will lead his story to a golden ending. I couldn’t imagine doing something 25,000 times in my lifetime (of course hitting snooze on my alarm clock every morning doesn’t count). Watching Boudia’s diving story/commercial, I am inspired to do whatever it takes to reach my goals, to tell my story. Whether my goals include running a 5K, landing another internship next summer or decreasing my morning snooze hits, after seeing how hard Boudia works be the best Olympic diver he can be, I too, am determined to have a great story to tell as I strive to achieve my goals.
As always, Procter & Gamble has gotten the best of me with its commercials. P&G’s “thank you, mom” slogan isn’t exactly about moms providing the family with clean clothes washed with Tide detergent. The spots share the story of young children, Olympic athletes, who participate in the opening ceremony, balance on the beam, take their marks and prepare to leap off the high dive. It’s not the fact that the “athletes” in this P&G story will always be children to their mothers that gets me, it’s the fact that we are never too old, or too young, to start telling a new story as we pursue our dreams. With dedication and support from our families, friends and (as the commercial suggests), P&G, our goals are not limited by our age. Although I may have missed the boat on becoming the sixth member of the Fab Five, it’s never too late to raise my standards, set my goals higher, and have a success story to tell.
Gone are the days where I watch the Olympics and dream of one day telling my own Olympic story. Now are the days when I watch the Fab Five tell an amazing Olympic story as they make history by winning the gold. Now are the days when I critically assess the commercials of Coca-Cola, Visa and P&G and conclude that good storytelling is not only for the Olympic events themselves but also for smart marketers who understand that their storytelling can not only enhance my view of their products and brands but also inspire me to set my goals higher and encourage me to tell my own “bring home the gold” story. Gone are the days of selling a product; now are the days of telling a story.
_____
Chelsea Dowling is an intern for WordWrite Communications.
